View full sizemtbachelor.comReady for an event at Mt. Bachelor's West Village.

Sorry, the new building under construction at Mt. Bachelor isn't for skiers. But, eventually, they will benefit from it.

The central Oregon ski resort is constructing the new two-story Bachelor Butte
administration building at West Village to consolidate staff offices into one
location and improve communication and efficiency. Exterior construction is nearing completion, but the interior won't be fully ready until next winter. When that happens, staff offices around the resort will be vacated and the space remodeled for visitor use.

Also part of the
project, the Bachelor Ski & Sport building at West Village has been renamed the
Mountain Gateway. Beginning this winter it houses all guest services, including a
new Guest Services Sales Center on the lower level. This will be the place to go for tickets, rentals, lessons, retail.

The Guest Services Building at West Village will also be overhauled next year. Guest have been asking for public showers, so they will get them.

Mt. Bachelor also completed over the summer a five-year maintenance overhaul of all its lifts. Work on Outback completed the project.

The resort expects a record of decision in the first quarter next year by the Deschutes National Forest that will guide its development planning through the next couple of decades.

MT. BACHELOR

The scoop: Willamette Valley skiers love their Mt. Bachelor getaways _ ditto for skiers from Washington and California. Bachelor is the
biggest winter resort in Oregon and handles crowds well, with a great
lift system, good terrain and services, plus reliable snow _ too
reliable at times, when storm after storm pounds the Cascades.

What you
don't get with a Bachelor vacation, though, is the feel of staying in a "ski
town," because Bend has become a city (which brings its own
advantages). But Sunriver still offers that ski-village ambience.

Essentials: Complete services (except lodging) at
both bases, West Village and Sunrise; mid-mountain Pine Marten Lodge
above West Village is the lunch stop of choice, especially Scapolo's.
Clearing Rock Bar in West Village is the place to go after your last
run. Now you can check out the new Sun Bar, a portable umbrella.

Nordic:
56-kilometer network groomed (the most in Oregon, though only 37 km
when not using the traditional double-count of out-and-back loops); the
Nordic Center is at the north edge of the West Village parking
lot; also connections to a vast network of ungroomed trails in the
Deschutes National
Forest

Lodging: Central Oregon has a vast array of
options, including recent additions (or upgrades) in luxury with Pine
Ridge Inn and Mount Bachelor Village in Bend, the cabins and hotel rooms at Brasada,
Five Pine Lodge at Sisters, River Lodges at Sunriver and the Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend. Shop for
lodging at www.visitcentraloregon.com, or at the ski area website.

Basil Childress/Sunriver ResortCentral
Oregon offers the state's best winter amenities to go with
skiig/snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor, including sleigh rides at Sunriver
Resort along the Deschutes River.